God of Our Silent Tears

So often when we think of "Lift Every Voice and Sing", dubbed the Black National Anthem, what we hear is the first verse. But as I was looking at the lyrics, my heart was moved by the final verse:

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

For anyone who has felt themselves in the struggle for justice and equality, these words are ones that can resonate deeply.

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" was a poem written by James Weldon Johnson, the principal of a segregated school, and was publicly performed on Lincoln's Birthday in 1900 as an introduction for Booker T. Washington. Johnson's brother John set it to music five years later, and it quickly became part of the culture of African-Americans and included in hymnals in black churches across the country. It speaks of the ongoing struggles blacks faced in this country at the turn of the century with Jim Crow laws and the ever-present racism.

It is still relevant to the black experience in America. But its hearkening back to God as the ultimate light to guide us through the storms of "the world" is a message for LGBT people and immigrants as well. Which is why these words of verse three really struck me as I read them. No matter how long the struggle may seem to be, no matter how tired and defeated one can start to feel in the face of opposition, God is there to provide the shelter. Can I get an Amen?